1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device and a method for removing the fillets from the eviscerated carcasses of poultry whose extremities have been detached.
2. Description of the Related Art
From EP A1 168 865 is known a device of this kind which is designed to remove the head portion of the wishbone (clavicula), wherein this operation is however before a filleting process whose result is a double fillet including the breast meat in the form of outer and inner fillets. With this device, the poultry carcasses present as front halves are mounted on the saddles of a rotationally driven conveyor, so that the saddle horn extends into the neck opening and the breast portion faces upwards. Filleting of the poultry carcass being conveyed with the neck opening in front is effected on the lower run of the device and begins with retention of the breast meat and hence stripping thereof from the wishbone to the breastbone (sternum) and is continued by a scraping tool which is adapted to the shape of the poultry carcass and, by penetration between skeleton and meat, causes separation of the meat up to the keel of the breastbone (crista sterni). By means of scraping fingers which then follow, detachment from the flanks of the breastbone is effected in its region of transition to the breastbone plate (corpus sterni) and finally complete separation of the double fillet by means of rotationally driven peeling belts. A further practical example of this state of the art provides as the first filleting tool a pair of milling rollers which lift the fillet meat located in the region of the ribs off the skeleton. Behind this tool is a scraping tool after the fashion of the one described above, which causes separation of the meat up to the keel of the breastbone. Complete separation of the double fillet is finally again undertaken by a tool consisting of rotationally driven peeling belts. From EP-A1 207 553 is known a further device for recovery of the meat from poultry carcasses in the form of double fillets. Here too the starting product is the front half of a poultry carcass which is inverted over the saddle horn of a saddle which forms part of a revolving conveyor. On inversion, the wing joints and hence the points of application of the wishbone are kept forced inwards, and the poultry carcass is thus supplied to the filleting tools which are arranged along the lower run of the conveyor and recover the fillet meat essentially by pushing it off. In the recovery of such fillets from poultry carcasses, unfortunately e.g. due to the different geometries of the naturally grown carcasses it is not possible to obtain an optimum of fillet meat at the same time as a visually pleasing product.